The Presence of Potentially Pathogenic Protozoa in Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ) Sold in Markets in the Central Peruvian Andes

J. Raul Lucas (), Daphne Ramos, S. Sonia Balcázar and Carlos Santos
Additional contact information
J. Raul Lucas: Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, San Borja, Lima 15021, Peru
Daphne Ramos: Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, San Borja, Lima 15021, Peru
S. Sonia Balcázar: Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, San Borja, Lima 15021, Peru
Carlos Santos: Department Section of Food Technology, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-9

Abstract: Peru is currently one of the world’s leading culinary destinations, whose world-renowned cuisine uses vegetables, mainly lettuce, as frequent ingredients. Vegetable consumption is promoted worldwide as a part of a healthy diet. However, vegetables, more frequently lettuce, have been implicated as a vehicle of infection for several foodborne parasites. This study aimed to determine the presence of potentially pathogenic parasites in lettuce marketed in the Central Andes of Peru. A total of 75 lettuce samples were collected from the two largest wholesale markets and the main open-air market in Jauja province, in the central Peruvian Andes. The province of provenance (coast vs. highlands), lettuce variety (“curly-leaf”, “iceberg”, and “butter”), and type of market were recorded. The samples were microscopically examined for detection of parasitic life forms using standard parasitological methods including direct slide smear, Lugol’s iodine staining, and Modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining. The overall positivity of parasitic contamination in lettuces was 45.3% (CI 95%: 34–56.6%). Cryptosporidium spp., Isospora belli , Giardia lamblia , Balantidium coli , and Entamoeba spp. were detected in twenty-six (34.7%), six (8%), four (5.3%), two (2.7%), and two (2.7%) lettuces, respectively. I. belli was found in a significantly ( p < 0.01) lower proportion in the “butter” variety, and significantly ( p < 0.05) higher contamination with G. lamblia was found in lettuce sold at the open-air market. B. coli , G. lamblia , and E. histolytica/E. dispar/E. moshkovskii were detected only in lettuce from the highlands (Tarma province). This study provides important data for health authorities to develop food safety programs. This information is also of interest to the international community because of the increased visibility that Peru has gained as a tourist destination.

Keywords: Balantidium coli; Cryptosporidium; protozoa; parasite; foodborne disease; lettuce (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/943/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/943/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:943-:d:1025229

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().